Monday, March 24, 2014

Hi guys! How is March treating you so far? Has there been any March Madness you'd like to share? Or has it been a calm but cold transition into 'Spring'? I've been a little MIA from here but you can always find me on Twitter / Instagram or Tumblr if you need to get in touch!

I have been on a bit of a journey this past month or so, I've been helping a few makeup newbies take their first tentative steps into the world of 'doing yourself up', as I liked to call it.

First up let's talk about Lindsay, a great girl in her 20's from the Mid-West in the United States. She and I have been blog buds for some time now, and once I learned that she never really had experimented with makeup or skincare in the past (She's now in her early 20s!) I was itching to help her discover this side of things. It took a little gentle convincing (or, you know, firm but loving pushes in the right direction, either or...) to get her to open up to the idea that she could wear makeup and look amazing, it could feel natural and not like a mask of madness on her skin, and it could make her feel more confident. We talked over a lot of her fears too which I think are beyond important, when first starting to experiment with anything you're unsure of.

We started off with basic skincare, cleanse right, and moisturise day and night - now is the time to start investing in your skin so twenty years from now your skin won't look like it's fifty years from now. I suggested something light and natural, and she settled on +Aveeno Cetaphil skincare to start with. We then moved on to makeup, I wanted her to experiment at first, to see if it felt like something she'd want to continue, so we decided to go with cheap & cheerful - just in case she never used them more than once, I was conscious of a budget for beginning.

I decided to try a middle of the road - budget wise - Foundation. For me the key elements to a good face of makeup start with the moisturiser, or primer, and the foundation. Everything else can be as budget friendly as you like, depending on how you use them. For this I suggested my favourite foundation - the holy grail of high-street makeup - +BourjoisUK Healthy Mix. However, we discovered that this wasn't widely available in the states, and if it was, it was for almost triple the price that we pay for it here in Ireland/ Uk. So, that was a no go. The next stop for us was +Boots UK and their US site. Here we settled on their own brand No.7 for foundation, ordering it in the palest shade they had, because like me and many of us Caspers, Linds is a pale girl. So, without me being there in person to swatch for her, I sent in her right direction, crossed my fingers and hoped for the best come delivery day.

Then came tools, and the only ones I could suggest to her in good conscious was the +realtechniques core collection to start. I've been a massive fan of the +Sam Chapman creations for ages now, and only seemed right to start her off with the best - and the best value for money too - because as hard as it was to rein me in, budget, budget, budget!!

Next up we hit +e.l.f. Cosmetics for just about everything we could think of, and well, she went a liiitttle crazy!

And it was amazing.

I was attempting to welcome her gently, thinking, hey there's a half price sale, maybe she'll see one or two things she'll like. Nope, it turned out she was a natural and demanded almost one of everything they had on offer! I was doing my Chandler happy dance, and was so excited for her to dive in and have a play around with all this stuff! It sounds strange, I suppose but I knew that she would benefit so much from it all. Not just from the superficial fun aspect of it all, but from the other side of the coin too.

The side that most people can relate too.

That, no matter how beautiful you are naturally - and let's face it, when we're being objective, we've all got something naturally beautiful about us - but when you get that new product that enhances your already epic lashes or compliments your freckles or makes your amazing eyes stand out just a little bit more. There's a moment of empowerment that comes with that, something that puts that extra little pep in your step.

So my excitement and pride was pushed aside as we waited for her to receive all her goodies, and when she did, she was just as excited to try things out. Lindsay started off slowly, spending time blending and perfecting her foundation *which was a perfect match!* and moved on from there. She most importantly was having fun with her new adventure, and I was happy she was happy. I had in a weird, roundabout way helped a person thousands of miles away, even in a small way, it was an amazing feeling of accomplishment - even with something as 'silly' as makeup.

I'm not a 'guru' or an 'expert' or even someone who gets it right every time. I'm not the girl that wears ten pounds of slap, fake tan and hair extensions every day, but I'd never judge those who are! If I had the time or notion to do this everyday, I probably would, because whatever floats your boat, right?

I think that starting to feel comfortable with yourself and within yourself starts with finding even the littlest of ways to make yourself feel like your best self. If it's going for a run, or going window shopping or starting a new diet, or buying that new lippy, whatever it is that makes you feel like the best you, I say go for it!

Friday, April 12, 2013

I receive a few messages via email and on Tumblr mostly every now and again on what kind of makeup I use or skincare I prefer, and tonight I got this on possibly recommending a skin primer. Without much detail to go on, I could only give a couple of my favourites. Hope it helps you guys on the hunt for the next big primer in your life too!Featuring +Boots UK+Avon Ireland+MACMAKEUP MAC

If you have any questions or comments on what I post here on on Tumblr, please don't hesitate to get in touch!